


Warmth

by wrenstars



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Dorks in Love, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 20:20:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13084614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrenstars/pseuds/wrenstars
Summary: Luke struggles to adapt to Hoth's climate. Ezra has an idea how to help him stay warm.





	Warmth

Luke was not adapting to Hoth well.

Ezra didn’t even have to ask to know it was true. Luke was fair, but since their arrival on the planet he’d been pale. He wasn’t shivering – not constantly, at least – but he positioned his body in ways designed to preserve heat. When Ezra had embraced him after a training session, or Han clapped him on the shoulder, or Leia grasped his hand, he leaned in toward their warmth like a flower reaching for the sun. For warmth.

Ezra was worried, to say the least.

The switch to Hoth hadn’t been easy for anyone. First, it was the problem of moving, and the issue of transporting all they could while ensuring all data was obliterated – not to mention organising the hundreds of people on the base.

And then, once that was finished, there had been the planet.

“Just looking at it makes me feel depressed,” Sabine had said when they caught their first glimpse of the snowy wastelands. “At least deserts have colour. I want to grab all the paint in the _galaxy_ and dump it on this bleak snow! It wouldn’t be so dull then.”

Their problems only started with the never-ending white. Machines froze in the cold, and violent snowstorms kept everyone hauled inside. And then there was the fact that the chill _never went away_. Ezra felt haunted by it, from the way it seeped beneath his clothes into his bones, and pried at his neck with its icy fingers. Most people’s moods had soured due to the freezing temperatures which, when connected with the endless white, made the space feel even colder. Sabine had been frequently spotted spraying the walls with the art she usually saved for the Ghost or Stormtrooper helmets, in an attempt to brighten the place and raise moral.

It was hard enough for most of them, but Luke had been raised on a desert planet. He’d worked outside in scorching heat almost every day. And though the desert became cold at night, his home it had been built to adapt to the climate. The Rebel base, on the other hand, had been constructed within walls of ice. It was inescapable.

A week later, Luke had still made little progress, and Ezra made the decision to check in on him.

It was odd, how one meeting with another boy could send his nerves a jitter. But Luke was… _Luke_. There was no other way to describe it. After Kanan had started teaching Luke, they’d spent more time together, and a firm friendship had grown into something more. On Ezra’s behalf, at least. He had no idea how Luke felt. But there was no denying that whenever Luke entered a room, Ezra could barely keep his eyes off him. Training was almost a relief, even if Kanan pushed them hard. It gave him a distraction.

(Ezra now made a pointed effort to avoid Sabine whenever Luke was nearby. She was merciless. Even Kanan and Hera would tease him – not that they had any right to. It took long enough for _them_ to get together, after all.)

His quarters weren’t far away from Luke’s; no doubt Leia had arranged that so all Jedi could be close. Therefore, the journey between rooms didn’t take as long as he hoped, giving him barely any time to prepare. Ezra felt more nervous standing in front of Luke’s door than he did facing a trap set by the Empire. And it might just be because he’d thought Luke was cute from the first time they met on Yavin 4 – and they’d grown only closer since.

_Come on, Ezra. If you can face Inquisitors and Thrawn and Darth Kriffing Vader himself, you can knock on Luke’s door._

He raised his fist, paused, then rapped several times in rapid succession with his eyes squeezed closed.

“Come in!” Luke called.

Ezra pushed the door aside with the Force and stepped inside. The room wasn’t much – none of theirs was, really. But even if the room had been crammed to the brim with treasures, it would have all paled in comparison to the boy on the bed.

Luke had been skimming through a datapad, though he put it away once Ezra entered. He sat straighter and beamed a smile as bright as the twin suns of his home planet – Ezra felt like melting under its intensity.

“Ezra!” he greeted. “What brings you here?”

Ezra meandered deeper into the room. “Checking up on you, actually. Haven’t seen you around too much lately.”

They’d all been too busy establishing the base, attempting to begin setting all equipment up, and repairing frozen machines. Ezra had only caught Luke at odd moments, and they had never been alone – Han, Leia, or his family had been around. There had been a distinct lack of privacy. Even during the one training session they’d had, Kanan had been present, and they’d been too busy tutoring Luke through combat to focus on small talk.

The sudden lack of any other people make Ezra very aware just how alone they were. He swallowed past his suddenly tight throat. He might have wished for it, but now he just felt like he’d arrived to face Darth Vader equipped with only a blaster.

“Ah, yeah.” Luke rubbed the back of his head. “I haven’t been training lately. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not usual circumstances, we’re still settling in here. Speaking of that…” Ezra frowned and sat beside Luke, leaving a comfortable distance between them on purpose. Any closer and his heart might just break free of his chest. “How are you faring?”

Luke shrugged. “Just fine. Though the temperature is very different to Tatooine’s.”

“I know. And I’ve noticed you struggle to adapt.”

Luke shook his head. “That obvious, huh?”

“Only because I know you so well,” Ezra teased. His expression became serious. “It’s why I’m here. I was worried about you. I want to help if I can.”

“I appreciate it, Ezra, but I don’t think there’s much you can do. The base is still being set up, after all. There are no spare supplies.”

“It _would_ be easier if there were hot drinks available.” Ezra’s lips dried, and his throat felt like bone. “But I can do something.”

“What?”

“Well…” Ezra shifted. “There’s always the option… of body heat.”

“ _Oh_.”

The air in the room thickened, to the point Ezra could have cut through it with his lightsaber. Neither he nor Luke managed to be able to meet each other quite in the eye. Electricity crackled in the atmosphere – despite the cold, Ezra fully believed a fire could be lit in the room.

Ezra couldn’t believe the words had left his mouth. Well, he’d considered all other options… But still. Luke’s mere presence was enough to send his heart into lightspeed. And, technically, Luke had given him the idea - he’d noticed how Luke leaned in to others on Hoth.

But it was for Luke’s benefit, first and foremost. He could sit through his turbulent emotions long enough to provide some form of relief. 

“You don’t have to, of course,” Ezra said, tripping over his words in his rush to speak. “I mean, there’s just no other resources currently available – not even blankets, I checked, can you believe it? But we’re still gathering ourselves and this – this was all I could think of.”

Luke cleared his throat. “Well… It would be nice,” he stammered. “I haven’t felt quite warm in a week.”

“Nobody has, but you have it worse than most.” Ezra swallowed, and looked across at Luke through his lashes. “So… I’ll just. Sit beside you, I suppose. Closer than I already am.”

“Oh. Yes. That makes sense.”

Neither of them moved. The space between them was nothing. It was the other side of the galaxy. It would take nothing to close that difference. It would take all the will he possessed. It was close and far at the same time, and Ezra knew he was making a bigger deal out of this than was entirely necessary.

 _The Force isn’t going to move us_ , Ezra told himself. _Get a grip already, Bridger_.

He was just about to shuffle over when Luke sighed, stood, and sat himself back down so their legs were touching.

Ezra stiffened, his breaths shallow. For a moment all they did was stare at each other, then Ezra tilted his head so his touched Luke’s.

A knot in Ezra’s chest loosened, and he relaxed. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He could feel Luke’s warmth, his heartbeat thudding steadily along. He could hear Luke’s quiet breaths, and breathed in his scent.

Everything he could sense was Luke. And he was perfectly okay with that. It just felt _right_. Even now, Ezra could feel the tension lessening from his shoulders, and his breaths became longer, deeper. The last traces of unshakeable cold melted from his body.

Luke exhaled softly. Ezra cracked an eye open to see Luke lower his head to his shoulder.

“Better?” he asked.

Luke nodded. “Yes. Definitely.”

“I’m glad.”

He hesitated, then wrapped an arm around Luke. Luke glanced up, rolled his eyes, and returned the gesture. Electricity shot up Ezra’s spine. He hoped Luke couldn’t feel the extra heat radiating from his cheeks.

Years could have passed, and Ezra wasn’t sure if he’d have noticed. They didn’t speak, but the silence was comfortable. Peaceful. For once, time slowed down, and he was content. So close to Luke, he was able to convince himself that they weren’t at Echo Base, but instead on a distant planet.

Being next to Luke was a definite bonus.

“I’m sure Kanan’s waiting for me to do something,” Ezra muttered a while later, words slurred with drowsy content. He could vaguely recall Kanan talking to him this morning, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered much now, apart from Luke.

Luke nodded. “Mm. And Leia did say she wanted to discuss a few things today…” He sighed. “We should get going.”

Luke withdrew his arm and started to stand up. As though receiving a jumpstart to his system, Ezra snapped to focus. He grasped for Luke’s hand, pulling him back toward him.

Ezra didn’t know why he acted so impulsively. He just knew he didn’t want Luke to go just yet. Was it selfish? Yes, he decided, when other people might need them.

If only he could ignore that he felt calmer now than he had done in weeks.

Luke turned, eyebrows furrowed. “Ezra,” he murmured, pulling at his hand, “What are you doing?”

Ezra smiled. “A few more minutes won’t hurt.”

“But if they look for us -”

“We can’t have gone far,” Ezra reasoned. “A snowstorm started outside, no one can be sent out in _that_ , and besides, the blast doors are closed.” He squeezed Luke’s hand and winked. “C’mon, nobody’s going to panic.”

Luke cast his eyes to the ceiling. But, when he returned his gaze to Ezra, he was smiling. “Okay. If you say so.”

“I _do_.”

Luke snorted and sat down. Sparks jumped across Ezra’s skin when Luke wrapped his arm around his body again. Ezra took the opportunity to lay his head on Luke’s shoulder. It was surprisingly comfortable.

“I’m glad, that you stopped me,” Luke admitted. “I wasn’t quite ready to get up just yet.”

“Why do you think I stopped you? I wasn’t ready, either.”

Luke laughed. Ezra smiled, and wished he could have that sound played constantly on repeat.

In the quiet, Ezra could just about hear the ranging snowstorm outside. He shivered and pressed closer to Luke, fighting off that subconscious chill. He hoped to never be caught outside in that. He wondered if the Rebellion would be able to do anything on this planet, the weather was so unpredictable.

“You really have a way with planets,” Ezra mused. “You lived on a desert, and now you’ve arrived the Rebellion decided to move to another one – yet an icy one.” He jabbed Luke in the rest as best he could, while one of his arms was pinned between their bodies. “You brought it with you.”

Luke chuckled. “Sorry, I guess?”

“Just joking. But it’s ironic how everything completely changed for you. Did you _ever_ see green on Tatooine?” He hadn’t seen any himself, but Luke had been on the planet longer than him.

“Never. And I never felt rain, either. The only time I saw green and felt wildlife was on Yavin 4.”

Ezra shuddered. He’d spent less than a day on Tatooine, and even that had been too long. He tried to imagine living on that dustball, surrounded by constant dryness, and never experiencing the life of a thriving planet. Even if Lothal hadn’t had many trees, at least there had been grass, and animals. It had never felt as desolate as Tatooine or Hoth.

“That needs to change.” Ezra waved his hand upward, toward the sky. “When this war is over, you need to see what’s out there. Greenery. Life. Rain. You need to experience all of that.”

“A part of me does wish for that still.” Luke said. “It’s all I could think about on Tatooine. Just _leaving_. That short time on Yavin 4 only increased that longing.”

“Where would you go first?”

“Nowhere with snow. Anywhere that’s warm.”

They both laughed.

“After this planet, I can’t blame you,” Ezra said through his chuckles.

“I suppose not,” Luke said. “Though, it wouldn’t be so bad. If you came with me.”

Ezra bolted upright. Luke added the last part casually, as though an afterthought. However, there was a pink tinge to his cheeks that betrayed his sincerity. It made Ezra’s stomach perform somersaults.

“ _Me_?” he exclaimed. “Why – you know Leia and Han better, surely -”

Luke shrugged. “They would be great. But you would, too.”

He would? Ezra shivered, though not from cold. He could barely believe that they were having this conversation. He’d hoped, but never truly thought it would happen. Already he could imagine them – Hera would never lend them the Ghost, but he could dream. He’d take Luke to Lothal, to Naboo, to Takodana… The galaxy would be at their fingertips. The possibilities were endless.  

“I’d like that,” he said. “I’d enjoy any more time alone with you.”

Luke blinked. “Alone?”

“Most preferably.”

Slowly, Luke smiled, that smile that was capable of stealing all of the air from Ezra’s chest. Luke was so bright, he was the sun, and he just kept pulling Ezra into his orbit.

He was leaning in. Luke was, too. Ezra’s heart threw itself against his chest so hard, it was almost painful. He tilted his head and closed the final distance, his stomach swooping when they finally kissed.

Oh, Ezra thought, as fireworks exploded in his chest. This is what it feels like.

It was hardly refined – Ezra had no idea what he was doing, and it seemed like Luke had no experience either. Luke’s lips were chapped from the cold. But it still set every nerve in his body on fire to the point he was sure he could walk outside and not be affected by the snowstorm. He was on top of the world, and nothing could bring him down.

Slowly, they broke apart. Ezra’s lips were still tingling and he grinned – he didn’t think that would be wiped off his face any time soon. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this happy.

“The war had better finish soon,” he said.

Luke laughed. “I couldn’t agree more.”

**Author's Note:**

> it's been way too long since i wrote something for these two! this is the cheesiest thing ever but i love these two (even if they FRUSTRATED ME two awkward teens fumbling through love). also, apologies for the awkward kiss - those scenes always make me feel so awkward and have never been my forte! what i did write took me about an hour to figure out... 
> 
> this is for alex, my wonderful friend. i'm so sorry for all the times i've taken ages to reply! i love talking to you, it never fails to make me smile. hope you have a lovely day!! merry early christmas <3


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